Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in the US and throughout the world, (Jemal A, et al. Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin 61(2): 69-90 (2011), with most patients presenting with advanced stage disease. The five-year survival rate for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains below 10%, necessitating the need for novel therapeutic strategies against advanced disease. A significant clinical hurdle to reduce mortality in NSCLC is the propensity for tumor cell invasiveness and metastasis. Despite pharmacological advances for NSCLC, current treatments have limited efficacy in metastatic disease, and the majority of patients succumb to the overwhelming tumor burden resulting from tumor spread. Even molecularly targeted therapeutics such as the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) fail due to tumor resistance, followed by disease progression.
Thus there exists a need in a field for improved systems and methods for the prognosis, diagnosis or treatment of lung cancer.